Saturday, December 29, 2018

With
practice, one day we will recognize that all phenomena are composed of
and dependent upon the interaction and merging of [the] four elements.
We will realize that all of it—the entire universe—is just one
continuous manifestation. And that we, ourselves, are no different.

Thursday, December 27, 2018

With
practice, one day we will recognize that all phenomena are composed of
and dependent upon the interaction and merging of [the] four elements.
We will realize that all of it—the entire universe—is just one
continuous manifestation. And that we, ourselves, are no different.

What is common to all forms is not another form. What is common to all
forms is choiceless awareness, it is pure love, it is flow and harmony
with the universe. It is the absence of clinging. How does it all come
together? If you follow all of the forms to the apex, you are pushed
beyond form and into the moment. The passing show of forms, being
created and existing then disappearing into formlessness.

Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Being
is the source of love because learning to love means learning to be
content with the life you have been given. Being fully present to what
is—without judging or evaluating or wanting something different—is the
most basic act of love.

When
we stop being busy and productive and switch to just being still and
aware, we ourselves will also feel support, intimacy, and happiness,
even if no one else is around. These positive feelings are a product
that is much desired but that cannot be bought.

The minute you project a future, you've just trapped yourself in your mind. You say, "Well, I'm gonna get enlightened next December," then that changes everything you do until then, and then in December you're going to have to give up that model anyway. It's like those guys who said the end of the world would come. When the end of the world didn't come, they were confronted with the fact that they had been caught in their own minds.

This
wish for perfect enlightenment for the sake of others is what we call
bodhicitta, and it is the starting point on the path. By becoming aware
of what enlightenment is, one understands not only that there is a goal
to accomplish but also that it is possible to do so.

Everybody you know, you see, you remember, you will meet, is another
face of God, is another doorway through. Is another way that God has
come to you to awaken your attachments, to bring them to the forefront,
to allow you to see through them.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Renunciation,
though often understood to mean “giving up,” is, more accurately, the
willingness to experience things as they are, not as we want them to be.
Here you discover true freedom, the deep, quiet joy that has always
been present in you.

For a relationship to remain as Living Spirit, one of the best ingredients to put into the stew is truth. Gandhi spent his life in what he called experiments in truth. Learning how to just be straight.

Saturday, December 15, 2018

If
we’re able to catch an angry thought as it’s budding, we can let it go.
The same is true of despair or hopelessness. And when letting go is too
difficult, a good medicine for dealing with these emotions is to reach
out and help others, healing them and ourselves.

Friday, December 14, 2018

It
is not sufficient merely to see that sentient beings are suffering. You
must also develop a sense of closeness with them, a sense that they are
dear. With that combination—seeing that people suffer and thinking of
them as dear—you can develop compassion.

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

The Living Spirit, the Beloved, is always right here. It is merely your
mind that prevents you from acknowledging its existence. The minute you
either quiet your mind or take your heart and open it out so that it
draws your mind along with it, only then do you rend the veil and do you
see that the Beloved is right there.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

What’s
the world? [It’s] any preoccupation that gets you stirred up, that
disturbs you right now… If it arises in the mind, make yourself
understand: The world is nothing but a preoccupation. Preoccupations
obscure the mind so that it can’t see itself.

For a long time I thought truth had to mean only words, but it doesn't. There are truths that are only communicated in silence. And you have to figure out when to use words and when to use silence, because the absolute truth is silent.

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Imagine
for a moment that everything you are experiencing is your very, very
best friend saying hello… Such a hello is much more than just a passing
handshake or kiss on the cheek… The sights and sounds around us when
fully acknowledged are quite an invitation indeed.

Friday, December 7, 2018

Concentration
will bring stability, stillness, and spaciousness; inquiry will bring
alertness, vividness, brightness, and clarity. Combined, they will help
you to develop creative awareness, an ability to bring a meditative mind
to all aspects of your daily life.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

A few months ago I wrote this letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Brasil:

A Assembléia Espiritual Nacional dos Bahá'ís do Brasil

Sede Nacional

SHIS QL 08 Conjunto 2casa 15 - Lago SulCEP 71625-220 Brasília/DF

Dear Bahá’íFriends,

My name is Daniel Orey. I live in Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais. Both my husband and I have been professors here at the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto since 2011.

In 2009, when we were still living in Sacramento, California my voting rights were removed because of my marriage (08.08.08) to Milton, my non-Bahá’í Brazilian husband.I later resigned from the Faith because I was hurt by feeling treated as a 2nd class citizen by the Bahá´ís, and our deep disappointment with the Bahá’í Administration in regard to its inability to welcome and protect all people from prejudice.

I am still happily married and living with my husband here in Ouro Preto, in fact, this year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary together, and our 10th as a legally married couple. The Brazilian government has allowed me a permanent visa because of our marriage and I have applied for dual citizenship. The Consulate General of Brazil in San Francisco and the Federal Police have always been encouraging, inclusive and welcoming to us, I spoke about this in 2013 in a TEDx talk, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anZNPNEgmUs

My husband and I are both tenured professors. Together we have spoken at numerous international congresses, and participate in research groups in Costa Rica, Peru, Chile, Nepal, Ohio and California. No one, but the Bahá’ís, seem to have a problem with our status as a legally married couple.

Recently, when discussing this dilemma with a gay Bahá’í, he informed me that now, there is more tolerance within the Bahá’í community for gays and lesbians. He said he was discussing this with other LGBTq Brazilian Bahá’ís and that there is no problem anymore with LGBTq Bahá’ís and that we would be welcome and will not face any prejudice.

I am somewhat surprised by this.

My point in writing is this, I am curious if the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Brasil is able to respect my marriage to my non-Bahá’í husband and therefore accept me and other LGBTq people in similar circumstances, that is as full members of the community. In so doing, would I be required to divorce my husband?

Whoever
you are, if you have a true and sincere mind, if you are not careless
in the least, if you do not go along with what worldly people do, but do
the contrary, then you will be able to attain the benefit of Buddhism.

I would say that most of us stay locked in our separateness and we are very frightened of coming out of it, we feel very vulnerable. In truth you’re not vulnerable at all. Who you think you are is vulnerable. Who you are is not vulnerable. This is the truth of it.

Sunday, December 2, 2018

There’s
no switch that turns on enlightenment. You move toward it with your
effort. It’s an effort that might be unrecognizable to those who think
“effort” means trying hard. You have to try soft—to be curious and open
to whatever it is that results.

Anyone who enjoys inner peace is no more broken by failure than he is inflated by success. He is able to fully live his experiences in the context of a vast and profound serenity, since he understands that experiences are ephemeral and that it is useless to cling to them.

Friday, November 30, 2018

Without spiritual discipline we are never going to wake up or advance on our journey through this life. But our discipline must be wedded to joy, and we must find pleasure in the myriad wonders that this life offers.

Reflection will give you a chance to stand back in your soul, witness
consciousness, look at your life, and see how much of the systems of
which you're a part you are still attractive or aversive. Because
ultimately the art form is to be, as Christ said, 'In the world, but not
of the world.'

Daydreaming
is very seductive; when the thoughts “If I were… If I had… ” come up,
they pull you in… When we ask the question “What is this?” it will bring
us back to the moment. What is happening now? What is right here to
enjoy and to appreciate?

The
practice of forgiveness happens when we are able to realize the
underlying cause of our anger and impatience, and this allows us to
distinguish between someone’s unskillful behavior and essential
goodness. Serenity and calm develop as we learn to accept imperfection
in others and ourselves.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

The romantic quality of love which is between separate entities is a doorway into the deeper love ... a lot of people experience a quality they call love but they’re doing it with their mind, they’re not really opening their hearts fully, they are loving, meaning I am attracted to … or I am attached to… when we talk about love versus fear for example, we are talking about ‘being’ versus ‘fear’, or ‘unity’ versus ‘separateness’, would be the other way of saying it.

So I would say that when the fear dissipates you are feeling at home in the universe. Meaning your identity with your separateness isn’t overriding your feeling of connection with everything to the point that you’re feeling cut off and vulnerable - which is where the root of the fear is. So as you cultivate that unitive quality the fear dissipates, so the relation is one between love and fear, but it’s not the love in the sense of ‘I love you’, its the sense that we are together in the space of love.

In dharma practice, we both prepare for the long haul and remain open to immediate insight and change… The perspectives of both gradual and sudden transformation may remind us that, as the Buddha taught, every moment of mindfulness matters!

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Let’s
find a way to share our gifts of spontaneous love and compassion moment
by sacred moment, seeing all the while the Great Gift of
interconnectedness and heart… Let us be reminded of that and rejoice in
the light of the season and the many opportunities to heal the gap
between us and others.

Life,
it turns out, is unsatisfactory, as long as we allow our hopes and
fears to be the authors of our expectations… Thankfully there’s a
practice that helps us recognize the source of this disappointment and
opens us to this richness. And it’s free.

If the mind congeals in one place and remains with one thing, it is like frozen water and is unable to be used freely: ice that can wash neither hands nor feet. When the mind is melted and is used like water, extending throughout the body, it can be sent wherever one wants to send it.

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

When
we turn away from our distress, we inevitably abandon our loved ones as
well as ourselves. But when we mindfully and compassionately incline
toward whatever is arising within us, we can be truly present and alive
for ourselves and others.

Monday, November 19, 2018

By engaging with exertion over and over again, the practice of mindfulness and loving-kindness becomes familiar territory for you, and is no longer a big deal. It is a part of you and not a project, but a way of life.

In this culture, we are rewarded for knowing we know. It’s only when we
come to the despair of seeing that the rational mind just isn’t going to
be enough – it’s only when you see the assumptions you’ve been working
with are not valid that there is the possibility of change. Albert
Einstein said, “A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to
survive and move towards higher levels.” And again, “Man must be able to
develop a higher form of thought if he’s ever going to be able to use
his energy with wisdom.”

Friday, November 16, 2018

Something happens when we don’t resist, when we don’t hate ourselves for what we’re experiencing. Our hearts open, and we realize we’re not alone in our suffering. Even the suffering, we begin to see, is a vehicle for a larger sense of connection to all of life. Once we have that, we have faith.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Patience is the only thing that defeats anger. Don’t be disappointed if you can’t do it right away. Even after years of practice you may find that you’re still losing your temper. It’s all right. But you will also notice that the power of anger has weakened, that it doesn’t last as long, and does not as easily turn into hatred.

Grace
provides the framework within which a meaningful life is lived. Love is
the substance of it day to day. To live a spiritual life, then, is
essentially to do things “for the love of it”—to do things without
attachment to a result or reward.

Monday, November 12, 2018

Until
we have awakened to the perfection of our fundamental nature, we harbor
traces of doubt—about our teacher, our practice, and ultimately
ourselves…The more effectively we live up to the precepts, the more likely we are to trust and realize our true self.

Sunday, November 11, 2018

If
we can let go of our various worries and cares, peace will arise in our
hearts. This is why the Buddha taught us to center our hearts in
concentration so as to give rise to stillness, peace, and the inner
wealth with which we’ll be able to pay off all of our debts.

Saturday, November 10, 2018

What
we most frequently see when the mind is focused and clear are the
habits of mind that create unnecessary suffering, habits fueled by greed
and hatred and delusion…The practice of seeing clearly is what finally
moves us toward kindness.

Friday, November 9, 2018

As
we listen more deeply to suffering, we begin to notice non-suffering.
The heart realizes its innate courage, strength, and invincibility. This
journey through pain and suffering burns away the impurities, and what
is revealed is something pristine, clear, and beautiful, like a moonlit
pearl: the tender, merciful heart, and its infinite ability to receive
the cries of the world.

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Mindful
speech and the ability to really listen are at the heart of all
relationships. And thoughtful, kind, and effective interactions are at
the center of our ethical core, the foundation of any spiritual
practice.

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

The truth is everywhere. Wherever you are, it’s right where you are, when you can see it. And you can see it through whatever vehicle you are working with, you can free yourself from certain attachments that keep you from seeing it. The scientist doesn’t stop being a scientist, nor anybody stop being anything. You find how to do the things to yourself which allow you to find truth where you are at the moment. I’d say we never find out anything new; we just remember it.

The
pain of remorse can motivate a profound desire within us to live more
awake and more genuinely. From the pain of deep humiliation—from seeing
how we go against our true nature—real humility can awaken.

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Every
mindful moment in which generosity displaces greed, compassion takes
the place of hatred, and insight dislodges delusion, is a moment in
which we are awake. If we can manage one moment of wisdom, why not
another?

Monday, November 5, 2018

The
most important thing is to keep working for the world we long for, even
when the odds seem overwhelming. After all, isn’t this the essence of
the bodhisattva’s vow that many of us have recited again and again? All
beings are numberless, I vow to save them.

Sunday, November 4, 2018

You would not have taken birth on this particular plane of existence unless you had work to do in the areas of life and death, or rather security of your separateness, anxiety about it, lust, greed, power. Those are the prerequisites for your taking birth on this plane.

Whenever
you see yourself identifying with anything stressful and inconstant,
you remind yourself that it’s not-self: not worth clinging to, not worth
calling yourself. This helps you let go of it. When you do this
thoroughly enough, it can lead to awakening.

The gateway to compassion and lovingkindness is to be able to feel our own pain, and the pain of others. If we are able to open in this way, our hearts can melt, and the healing salve of compassion can anoint all our wounds.

People
who are awake see the manifestation of the dharma in everything. A
pebble, a bamboo tree, the cry of a baby, anything can be the voice of
the dharma calling. We should be able to practice like that.

Everything is an occasion for the dharma to unfold. It is a virtual truism that no circumstance is not apt, to the attentive mind, for spiritual growth, from abject poverty and tragedy to joy and surfeit.

Meditation
is a haven away from the ubiquitous world of self-improvement. It’s not
just that there’s no such thing as “bad” meditation, but there’s no
such thing as “good” meditation either. It is what it is.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

There is a lovely story of a boy who goes to a Zen Master and asks,
“Master, I know you have many students, but if I study harder than all
the rest of them, how long will it take me to get enlightened?”

The master said, “Ten years.”

The boy said, “Well, if I work day and night and double my efforts, how long will it take?”

The master said, “Twenty years.”

Now the boy talked of further achievement and the master said, “Thirty years.”

The boy replied, “Why do you keep adding years?”

And the master answered, “Since you will have one eye on the goal, there
will only be one eye left to have on the work. And it will slow you
down immeasurably.”